The French dominate the world of shorthanded ocean sailing, and the man of the moment among French solo sailors is Francis Joyon.
Last winter Joyon became the fastest person to sail single-handed around the world, setting a remarkable time of 57 days, 13 hours, knocking nearly two weeks off the previous record.
Last weekend the 52-year-old Frenchman set another record aboard his 97’ maxi-trimaran, Idec II. He sailed the 3,885-mile Discovery Route, between Cadiz, Spain, and San Salvador, in the Bahamas, in 9 days and 20 hours, knocking 15 hours of the previous record. Luck wasn’t with Joyon this time and he had to sail an extra 400 miles out of the way while skirting weather systems.
